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Church keeps prayers going for 12 years

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KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A Missouri church said it has hosted non-stop, 24-hour prayers for the past 12 years to help drive evil forces away from society.

The International House of Prayer, which has its headquarters in a converted Kansas City shopping mall, said the music and prayers have been ongoing at the facility since Sept. 19, 1999, attracting worshipers from as far away as Britain and South Korea, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

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Church members said the continuous prayer is a way to weaken the grip of evil on society.

"What we do opens and shuts doors to angels and demons," founding pastor Mike Bickle said.

Experts said 24-hour prayer is a growing movement in Christianity.

"It's probably one of the fastest-growing movements within the broad evangelicalism," said Brad Christerson, a professor of sociology at Biola University, a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts school near Los Angeles. "They're really engaging a new generation of young evangelicals."

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